We wake to a beautiful day, an absolute contrast to the day before. We have spectacular views to the mountain ranges surrounding us, and realise why it was so cold the night before; there is an enormous glacier which the wind was blowing across straight onto the campsite. There is also small icebergs floating down the river. It seems that the cold i finally shook off a few days prior has come back with my ears blocked and my throat raging. Luckily, it is an easy walk today, 9km to Campamento Los Perros, as tomorrow we have a killer of a day. It is a steady climb out of the camp site through a pretty forest, with great views back towards the glacier. After reaching the peak it is a meandering walk through a beautiful forest ... read more

Today we ventured off to Torres Del Paine to tackle the circuit, which is the famous 'W' trek, plus the backside of the national park. It's around 90-100km, and you need to be self sufficient. So the previous day we went out and bought our supplies and hired a tent and some sleeping mats (as we were unable to make our thermarests fit when we left Oz). We were pretty limited in what food we could get, so it will be 3 minute noodles (not 2 minute), soup, dehydrated potato, oatmeal, dried fruit and nuts for a week. Glad the tent had ventalation... After registering at the national parks adminstration office, we headed to Campamento Seron,a nice 11km to ease our way into the circuit. The weather was good, slightly warm, and we had good views ... read more

Today we went ziplining (flying fox). It was Emiliano's idea, as it was his last day of his holiday, and we had booked it the night before. Unfortunately, he has come down with the cold that has been making its way through all of us, and has bailed out. Just leaving Jo, Mike and myself to do it on another beautiful day. We drive about an hour out of El Calafate to a private farm, where they do eco tours. The zipline circuit for us is 2.5km's over 5 individual lines, weaving its way down a small mountain. After getting up the mountain in a 4x4 we are greeted with the first line, 544 metres in length and 60 metres high. We have tremendous views over towards Torres Del Paine, 450km away, and can actually make ... read more

Arrived in El Calafate in the early afternoon after an enjoyable flight with Lade Air. Seeing as the tickets were so cheap i was expecting that we would be sitting amongst some chickens and a crate of fruit. But we were served a nice lunch and drinks, including beer, which i suprisingly turned down as i was still getting over a cold. Additionally, we had views across the Andes the whole way down. For two hours it was non stop snow capped mountains and lakes as the weather was still spectacular. Arrived in El Calafate to find it much warmer then Bariloche (at least while the sun was up), and started the hunt for a hostel. With backpacks on we tramped around the streets of the town until we had found one that we were happy ... read more

Woke up to a gorgeous day, with not a cloud in sight, and no sore legs, suprisingly after the previous days walking. The legs must be getting used to the mileage. Mike, Emiliano, Jo and I are keen to tackle a hard trek today, with Bruno skipping out. We decide to walk up the Cerro Catedral, the mountain we caught a gondala and a chairlift up on our second day. After getting the bus out there, Emiliano chats with a local who runs a cafe, and he recomends that we trek the Condor instead, which is black/blue ski run next to the Catedral, and apparently has better views. So after feasting on some chocolate, we head off. The climb starts at around 1100 metres and tops out at just under 2000 metres. Instead of following the ... read more